Do hyperandrogenic women have a better sexual functioning?

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical signs of hyperandrogenism in women can cause emotional distress. Sexual functioning have not been studied well in relation to androgenic status in women. Aim: To determine the impact of hirsutism on the sexual functioning in women. Material and methods: A randomised crosssectional study was carried out during the period from February 2012 to November 2013. The study included 245 healthy women from the general population with regular menstrual cycles. The extent of terminal hair growth was determined using The modified Ferriman- Gallwey (mFG) scoring system. Hirsutism was diagnosed in case of mFG  6 scores (cut-off value established according to the 95th percentile in the study group). The study participants were divided into two groups based on the mFG scale: hirsute females (n  55) and non-hirsute (n  190) females as a control group. The groups were compared using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Results: The mean age of the study participants was 24.74  4.48 years (range 18–40 years). The total scores obtained from the FSFI were reported to be an average of 22.04  8.7 in hirsute women and an average of 22.27  8.6 in non-hirsute women, p  0.9. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in any of the FSFI domains (arousal p  0.6, lubrication p  0.8, orgasm p  0.9, pain p  0.9, desire p  0.6, satisfaction p  0.7). The risk for sexual dysfunction (FSFI  26.55 scores) in the hirsute females group was determined for 34 (62%) women, and in the control group for 107 (55%) women, p  0.2. Dyadic adjustment was measured by a series of parameters. A higher average score for affectional expression in hirsutism group was found (9.27  3.37 vs 8.41  3.58), p  0.03. The rest of adjustment’s dimens [...].